The Royal Guard () of

Bahrain Bahrain, officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, is an island country in West Asia. Situated on the Persian Gulf, it comprises a small archipelago of 50 natural islands and an additional 33 artificial islands, centered on Bahrain Island, which mak ...

is a unit of the

Bahrain Defence Force The Bahrain Defence Force (, abbreviated BDF) is the military force of the Kingdom of Bahrain. The Bahrain Defence Force is under the direct command and leadership of a commander-in-chief who holds the rank of field marshal. The Government has ...

. In June 2011,

King King is a royal title given to a male monarch. A king is an Absolute monarchy, absolute monarch if he holds unrestricted Government, governmental power or exercises full sovereignty over a nation. Conversely, he is a Constitutional monarchy, ...

Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa Hamad bin Isa bin Salman Al Khalifa (born 28 January 1950) is King of Bahrain since 1999. He is a member of the ruling Al Khalifa dynasty. Early life and education Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa was born on 28 January 1950 in Riffa, Bahrain. ...

appointed his 36-year-old son

Nasser bin Hamad Al Khalifa Sheikh Nasser bin Hamad Al Khalifa (; born 8 May 1987), also known as Prince Nasser, is a member of the House of Khalifa, Bahraini royal family, Commander of Bahrain's Royal Guard (Bahrain), Royal Guard, deputy chairman of the Higher Committe ...

as the commander of the Royal Guard.

Opposition Opposition may refer to: Arts and media * ''Opposition'' (Altars EP), 2011 EP by Christian metalcore band Altars * The Opposition (band), a London post-punk band * ''The Opposition with Jordan Klepper'', a late-night television series on Comedy ...

political leader

Ali Salman Ali Salman Ahmed Salman () is a Bahraini Twelver Shi'ism, Twelver Shia Islam, Shi'a cleric and the Secretary-General of the Al Wefaq, Al-Wefaq political society. In January 1995, the Cabinet of Bahrain, Bahraini government forcibly exiled him to ...

claimed in 2009 that "no

Shi'ite Shia Islam is the second-largest branch of Islam. It holds that Muhammad designated Ali ibn Abi Talib () as both his political successor (caliph) and as the spiritual leader of the Muslim community (imam). However, his right is understood to ...

s have been recruited to work in the Royal Guard even though they make up over half of the population."

References

See also